Remus had handsome deep brown eyes. I couldn't help but notice slight creases at the corners of his eyes from where the sincerity of his smile was shown.

"You're right, we haven't. Nice to meet you, Remus, I'm Belle Loftman, the new history professor," I replied as I straightened myself and was going to shake his outstretched hand before I remembered the scrapes present on my palms from my fall by the floo networking. Remus seemed to notice,

"Oh that looks like it stings, maybe I'll walk you up to Madam Pomfrey to get it checked out?" He offered. I shook my head,

"I worked as a healer at St. Mungo's before coming here. I've picked up on a few healing spells." I grabbed my wand and murmured a quick charm to close up the wound. Admiring my handiwork, I displayed my healed palms up to Remus

"All better!" I cheered. He smiled and we continued walking down the corridor.

"The students must be excited to have you as their new teacher. I'll admit that Professor Binns wasn't a class favorite even when I was a student here," He laughed. Hermes jumped from my arms and proceeded to rub his tail against Remus' legs.

"I could say the exact same thing about you, Remus. I can't say that Hogwarts has had a stable DADA teaching in a while, but I'm sure that the students will love you," I had some sort of feeling about him. He seemed genuine.

"Well now that we're together, would you like to accompany me in casting protection charms around the castle grounds?" I asked as Hermes jumped back into my arms after being affectionately petted on the head by Remus.

"Don't mind if I do," he responded and we pulled our wand out and walked around the castle grounds muttering various charms and talking occasionally amongst ourselves.

oOo

Days past since first meeting Remus. He had actually left two nights ago to go and pick up some last minute creatures. Before then, I had spent every day with him organizing our classrooms together. He was on the younger spectrum of the teacher age range and I actually enjoyed spending time with him fun than other professors. That's not saying that organizing transfiguration textbooks with Minerva was boring, but Remus had some sort of aura that I liked being around.

I was still in my room rummaging through various clothes that I brought with me. Teachers have such lovely rooms at Hogwarts. When I first walked in I was surprised to see a fairly large room with a queen sized bed in the middle. It was fully furnished with a fireplace and small sitting area with a desk and couch. The color scheme seemed to match my old house colors of green and silver.

"This won't do," I commented. The green was much too dark for my tastes and being in Slytherin wasn't exactly a fond memory of mine. With a swish of my wrist, I charmed the colors into a much more neutral color scheme of greys and white, with hints of lavender—my favorite color.

The past week I was waltzing around the castle in jeans and t-shirts, much to the dismay of Minerva. Today was the first day the students would be arriving and I wanted to make a good first impression on them.

"How do I look?" I turned and faced Hermes who was laying on my bed. I picked a dark skirt and a crème colored blouse. It looked professional enough and I was going to wear my black professor robes over anyway so it wouldn't be that noticeable.

Hermes simply purred and went back to sleeping and I sighed and sat down at the edge of my bed. I was so excited to teach this year. Healing doesn't have as much interaction as teaching does. I've spoken more words to my professors in the past few days than I have to my entire co-workers in the past three years!

There was a knock at the door and I rushed to open it—slightly thinking that Remus had come back. As I opened the door, I was slightly disappointed but also taken aback to see Snape as my visitor.

"Oh hello, Severus, what brings you here?" I asked cautiously. He sneered and simply said,

"As your former head of house I can't say that I agree with you addressing me without formalities, but if I said anything Albus would skin me," It seemed that every memory of Slytherin made me scowl. I wouldn't say that I fit in the most though, I was the only girl in my entire dormitory who wasn't a pureblood and most of my classmates in my house steered clear of me. I actually have no clue where I came from, I was raised in an all-girls orphanage. From what I had been told, my father was the wizard in family and was a Ravenclaw, but both he and my mother were killed in a death eater attack.

"…anyway, I came here to offer you an assisting position in with my 7th year N.E.W.T classes. I can't stand the idiocy of many of them and I recall that you had decent marks on your exams." He grunted at me. He was right, I was fairly talented at potions which greatly helped me as a healer. Seventh year N.E.W.T. students need all the help that they can get.

"This isn't your way of slacking off is it, Severus? Because I may be new here but I'm not going to be everyone's maid to grade papers," I teased him. Snape stiffened and shot back,

"If you would just answer my question instead of creating mindless comments then we could both get on with our lives, Ms. Loftman. I already feel my allergies approaching with that feline of yours prancing around. How that animal is still alive after all these years still shocks me," he said unimpressed.

"I'll try to manage it into my schedule," I seethed through my teeth and he turned to walk away

"—and Hermes can sense it when people dislike him so don't get upset when he ends up in your classroom!" I yelled back at him. Severus ignored me and kept walking away. I shook my head with a smile and looked back at the time. It was nearing dinner time and the students should be arriving within the hour. I slipped on my robes and began to walk down into the dining hall.

Upon my arrival I immediately noticed Minerva, Albus, and Pomona in a heated conversation. Furrowing my eyebrows, I approached the trio.

"Is something wrong?" I asked concerned. Pomona sighed and Minerva answered me,

"Remus has just sent a patronus stating that a dementor was on the Hogwarts express and frightened a few students. Luckily, no one was badly injured but several of them are shaken up." Minerva sighed and turned back to Albus,

"The Ministry ensured us that the dementors would steer clear of the students, Albus! I am sorry but I won't allow these creatures to terrorize our students when they should be safe!" She all but said calmly. Dementors on the Hogwarts express? That was unheard of! Even if they were looking for Sirius Black students themselves wouldn't even been able to ward of a dementor, I didn't master the spell until the end of my seventh year.

"I'm sorry, Minerva but with Black on the loose the Ministry has my hands tied. With Potter being here, Black would have a reason to be on campus and if he is, then the dementors are our only source of protection." Albus continued, the normal twinkle in his eyes was gone. Minerva scoffed

"Only source of protection? The school is filled with witches and wizards who could stun him in a moment. Dementors are barely useful in this situation." And with that she threw her hands in the air and walked towards the faculty table at the front of the Great Hall.

As I continued to discuss the matter with Pomona, the footsteps of students began to fill the room. Amongst them, I saw Remus's head peek through the array of students. He came forward with a small smile.

"Well that was the most interesting train ride that I had encountered in my entire life," he joked as we walked up to the faculty table together.

"Are you alright? Minerva and Albus were furious that a dementor had gotten on the train," I told him worriedly once we sat down next to each other.

"I'm fine but the students are shaken up. Luckily, there was only one and a simply patronus charm was able to ward it away," He noted and I observed a group of Gryffindor students who seemed especially spooked.

"Ironically, it found Harry Potter. Probably the most traumatized student to come upon in the entire school. I gave him some chocolate to help with the scare but he should be alright." He noticed my gaze on the student among the crowd. It was impossible not to recognize him with the scar on his forehead.

"The poor boy. I can't imagine the fear they he felt. I can't even think about what could've happened if you weren't on the train." I told him honestly. He blushed and chuckled,

"Oh I don't know about that, the trolley witch was pretty handy with her wand when it came to students trying to sneak a pastry from her cart," he joked and I laughed. I noticed that the Hall had filled up quite nicely and suddenly, Minerva had come into the room with a trail of first years behind her. As the hat sang it's song and the first student went on the stool, I whispered to Remus,

"I still remember my sorting ceremony. I was so nervous that after I got sorted, I tripped while walking to my table. My house was mortified and practically hated me for the entirety of first term!" He sniggered and said,

"I can only assume that you were in Slytherin then?" he teased. I nudged him and said,

"Don't you dare assign any stereotypes on me, Professor. Where were you? A Ravenclaw?" I guessed. Remus and I dodged a look from Severus that practically screamed, "Shut up!"

"Close," he whispered as we faced the sorting ceremony and as he tried to contain his laughter. "—but I was in Gryffindor," he admitted proudly.

"What a turn of events! A Gryffindor and a Slytherin sitting beside each other without hell breaking loose!" At that moment, Albus took the stand once the sorting ceremony was finished.

"Before we begin our feast, I would like to say a few introductions for our new faculty. Please welcome Remus John Lupin as our new Defense against the Dart Arts professor," There were cheers resonating throughout the hall, especially with a group of Gryffindor students from earlier. He modestly stood up and nodded his head at the cheers. I also joined in on the clapping. Albus continued,

"Next I would like to mention that Professor Kettleburn has retired in order to spend time with his remaining limbs. However, our very own Rubeus Hagrid will be replacing him as our professor for Care of Magical Creatures!" Hagrid turned a deep shade of purple and as Minerva nudged him to stand up, he nearly knocked over the table. The same group from earlier was still cheering the loudest. When I was in my second year, I enjoyed helping Hagrid take care of a few newborn unicorns from the Forbidden Forest. Granted that no one knew that he was keeping them in his hut, but I just so happened to catch him sneaking them in. From every year onwards I would occasionally visit Hagrid and help him contain any new animals that he had.

"Lastly, I am proud to present our new professor who will be replacing Professor Binns for History of Magic as well as assisting in the potion department, Belle Loftman!" I stood up and did an awkward wave as the students clapped. It was odd seeing so many eyes on myself. However, there were two Weasley boys who were yelling out encouragement. I smirked at them and tentatively sat back down.

"You already seem popular with a few of the older students," Remus remarked. I slapped his arm and retorted,

"Oh please, I was actually their Transfiguration tutor. Those two boys were extremely flirtatious and huge trouble makers. I recommend that you keep an eye on them or else risk them slipping a handful of puking pastilles into your tea!" I shuddered at the memory.

oOo

"He's the new Defense against the Dark Arts professor, which would explain why he knew to give you the chocolate on the train, Harry!" Hermione concluded at the Gryffindor table as they munched on their dinner.

"He seems awfully close to that new woman, Professor Loftman. I remember that she would help Fred and George with their homework over holidays. Bloody hell, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that Charlie fancied her at one point," Ron chimed in with his mouth full of shepherd's pie. The golden trio looked up at the teachers' table and saw the young woman with brown eyes and a lovely complexion. A striking contrast was provided at the man next to her with sandy colored hair and scars running down his face who looked clearly worn out. They looked as if they were in a serious conversation until the woman began laughing and the man joined in.

"As long as she's a better teacher than Binns, then I'll be happy. It wouldn't hurt if she could help teach potions instead of Snape sometimes," Harry admitted and drank some of his pumpkin juice. Fred and George then slid over to the group of third years.

"Are you lassies talking about little old Belle?" George inquired as he plopped besides Harry.

"She was a beauty, wasn't she, George?" Fred asked from across the table.

"—definitely gorgeous. Even though she was a Slytherin—"

"—she was probably the least scummy of them all—"

"—I recall that Charlie practically fell in love with her when he found out she was helping Hagrid raise baby unicorns—"

"—I heard that she's become a healer now—" Fred interjected

"—if that means that she'll treat you, you can bet that we'll be getting more Quidditch injuries now, right Harry?" George pressed on.

"Alright! I think we've had enough about your history with Professor Loftman," Hermione ended the encounter before the twins could say more. The twins shrugged and moved back to their plates of food and Hermione pulled the brunette and the ginger in.

"But seriously, do you think that Dumbledore asked an additional healer to come to Hogwarts because of Sirius Black? Madam Pomfrey has done well on her own for decades, and there's no way that Snape would willingly work with someone else, so why would we need another witch in the castle?" Hermione fretted.

"I think it's obviously because of Black," Ron drawled, "He killed over 10 people with a single spell, who's to say that he won't be able to do it among students? If those dementors can get on the Hogwarts Express and find Harry, then they might even do it on school grounds. There's no doubt that Dumbledore brought Loftman here to keep things in check," Ron saw Harry's pale face, "Sorry mate," he apologized.

"But she looks like she just graduated from Hogwarts! What difference is there between her and some auror from the ministry?' Harry pointed out

"Didn't you just hear what Fred and George said? She's practically a prodigy, being a healer, tutoring students, and raising magical creatures! She obviously over-qualified. Or Dumbledore might just be trying to find a professor closer in age to us, imagine having Binns for another term," Hermione concluded.

"Or he's playing matchmaker," Harry grinned up at Belle and Remus who seemed to be in their own world talking and laughing.

"Blimey, imagine if Dumbledore found someone for Snape, think about how much less of a hell that class would be!" Ron lamented and Hermione slapped his arm.

A/N

Please read and review! Your comments help me out so much! Did the characters seem too bland? What do you think should happen in the next chapter? Would you like more background on Belle as a character or should I go straight into Belle and Remus's relationship?

Also, leave a comment about how you think Belle's first day of teaching might go! If someone's comment is fairly interesting, then maybe I'll include it in my next chapter *hehehe*

Hope everyone has an awesome new year! I'll try to update the story more often, but it's been so hard with school and exams coming up.

XO